“Well, I always say that losing Kimi would be a loss for the team, he’s very good, he’s a World Champion, it’s good to have him as a teammate,” the Frenchman explained in the FIA press conference.

If Raikkonen were to walk away from the team after two seasons in Enstone, Grosjean does feel that it would be his responsibility to take the team leader role and gun for race wins, relying he is re-signed for 2014.

“We push each other to the limit but if he leaves then we still have to do the job and to try to win races and score a lot of points. So at the moment I think we have a good way of working together but yeah, if he leaves then I would be more than happy to get the deal and try to keep Lotus where it is or still improve.”

Grosjean’s recent form suggests that he has the makings of a grand prix winner, having come close at the German Grand Prix where he led early on but eventually dropped to P3 come the chequered flag. However, quite whether he has done enough to lose the ‘crash kid’ label he received from many last season remains to be see.

I didn’t say he was out, I said if Raikonen was to return there is a higher probability that he’s out. If Kimi were to leave I’d say Romain is 95% safe if Kimi stays I put it at 49%. There are a few funded and more talented drivers looking towards Lotus and it wouldn’t surprise me if he got the boot for a Hulkenberg or a Maldonado.